The pregnant woman oftentimes finds it difficult, if not impossible, to recline in a prone position. This difficulty is enhanced as the term of pregnancy increases. Medical information indicates that it may be beneficial for a pregnant woman to recline in a prone position and from a practical aspect, the pregnant woman may wish to recline in a prone position to overcome the monotony or discomfort from sleeping or reclining in a supine position or on her side for the term of the pregnancy.
Oftentimes, the pregnant woman would have to resort to a makeshift situation of piling pillows on a bed in a particular manner in order to permit her to recline in the prone position. Outdoors, or at the beach, the pregnant woman would oftentimes have to mold the shape of the sand in order to accommodate her abdomen in order to recline in a prone position.
Various attempts had been directed towards easing this discomfort in providing a pregnant woman with the ability to recline on her abdomen.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,872 to Powell discloses a maternity mattress which contains a depression to accommodate a pregnant woman's abdomen when she reclines in a prone position. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,862 to Skinner discloses a maternity mattress which would accommodate the abdomen of a pregnant woman. These devices are cumbersome and must be used on a support surface or the floor and limit the pregnant woman to a prone position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,384 to Castelot discloses a pregnancy supporting lounge chair. This lounge chair provides a frame and webbing strips to accommodate a person in the normal fashion, and is adjustable to provide for a stretch band for use by a pregnant woman utilizing the chair in a prone position, the lateral stretch band accommodating the pregnant woman's abdomen.
The foregoing discussion of the prior art is in large part taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,349 to Hamilton who discloses a multi-purpose chair assembly adaptable for use by a pregnant woman, and which allows for the adjustability of the chair to accommodate the user's abdomen and breasts comfortably during the term of pregnancy. Hamilton proposes a multi-part support frame having a plurality of support legs, and including an adjustable support cloth or fabric, unrollable from a rotatable drum or dowel to provide the desired degree of slack between portions of the frame and support members. While the pregnancy supporting chair assembly disclosed by Hamilton does provide for accommodating a pregnant woman's abdomen during various stages of pregnancy, the Hamilton patented device is not designed to accommodate users of different height.